Undergarment



April 30, 1929.

A. c. LONGFELLOW UNDER GARMENT Filed Jan 1 1926 INVENTOR ANNA C ZGNGFELLOW ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 30, 1929.

1 STATE-S ANNA c. LoNernLLow, or LARQHMONT; new YORK.

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Application filed January 18, was. Serial No. 31,899. i

The present invention relates to ladies garments and more particularly to a novel form of ladies bloomers or lower garment particularly adapted to be'worn to prevent chafing and to be employed in combination with brassieres or in a combination as a union suit, which is adapted tobe adjusted to fit the body and to allow adjustment during movements of the body so as to conform as well in-the sitting posture to the body form as in standing or other postures.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a form of garment which is particu larly adapted to prevent chafing between the lower limbs and is particularly adapted for use by stout-er women or those peculiarly subject to chafing through perspiration or because of an unusually tender skin.

Another object of the'invention is to providea form of garment which may be readily adjusted in position after being put on or in other words to provide a garment in. which the fastening members to secure adjustment are in positions which are readily accessible by the person wearing the garment without removing the garment from the body.

With these and other objects in View the invention comprises the various features hereinafter more fully described and defined in the claims.

The various features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 illustrates the garment in the form of a union suit as adjusted on a form, the view being taken from the front;

Figure 2 is a view of the garment shown in Figure 1 as seen from the back;

Figure 3 is a view taken from the center line through Figure 1 to illustrate the position of the garment on the limbs; I

Figure l is a view showing a development of the garment on substantially one-half the scale of that shown in Figures 1, 2 and 8';

Figure 5 is a view in perspective of the lower portion of the garment shown in Figures 5 and 6, the relative position of certain of the parts when worn being indicated in dotted lines.

Referring more in detail to the drawings the numeral 1 indicates a garmentembodying my invention in the form of a union suit the garment in its development being shown r in Figure 41-. The 'arme'nt preferably has the usual shoulder straps 3, 5 serving to suspend the garment from the shoulders. The garment is placed on the body so that the central portion of the garment, as seen in F igure 4, is at the front whereby the side members 7 and 9 which are preferably integral with the body portion extend to each side. After the shoulder straps are in place the side portions or leg portions 7, 9 are folded around the legs toward the rear and thereafter drawn between the legs to thefront so as to encircle the legs. The strap or portion 11 to which a tape or strap connect- 111g member is attached is then drawn through an opening or slit 1 3 suitably positioned so that when the strap is drawn therethrough up to the side portion 7 the garment will be substantially in place. A correspondlng strap or extension 15 is then placed through an opening or slit 17 below and preferably nearer the front than the slit 13. The connecting member 19 attached to the strap 11 is then inserted through an eyelet 2t) which is preferably made of elastic mater al'and positioned at the rear ofthe garment or practically at the small of the back when worn. The end of the cord is then drawn toward the front and is tied in adjus'ted position thereafter to a cord or connecting member 21 attached to the extension 15. In a similar manner the other side of the garment is adjusted in place by pass- 1ng the extension 23 through the slit 25 and the extension 27 through the opening 29, the cord 31 being passed through an eyelet 30 at the rear of the garment and brought toward the front to connect with a cord 33 attached to the part 27, the cords being tied together in adjusted position in a manner similar to that of the other side of the garment previously described. It is to be understood that the upper portion of the combination garment or union suit may be made in one part in any. desired manner with either an elastic band or adjustable band at the top of the garment so as to permit adjusting the garment in place over the body which constitutes the preferred manner of attaching the garment. It is to be understoodyhowever, that buttons or other connecting means may be employed at the rear or front of the garment to permit fastening it in place on the body.

It will be seen that in this form of the in vention above described, the garment may be readily adjusted while being worn by means of the cords which are in a position easily reached by both hands. It is to be understood also that the usual tape or cords may be attached at the bottom of the leg portions of the garment, so as to permit fastening so as to resemble ordinary bloomers. This arrangement is preferable for younger persons and does not interfere with the comfort or efficiency of the garment in preventing chafing.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figure 5, the garment is adapted to fit the lower portion of the body and comprises a waist portion 30 which may be fitted by means of an elastic so as to be made in one piece, or, if desired, ll attach the garment by means of a button and buttonhole 32 and provide an opening or slit 84 in the waist portion so that the garment may be readily put in place on the body. After the waist portion is adjusted the lower portions of the garment are wrapped around the limbs and adjusted in place in the manner described in connection with Figures 1 to 4i above. It is essential that the leg portions or nether portions of the garment be correctly adjusted in place by drawing the cords or tape connected to the side portions in such a manner that the upper part of the leg portions will be drawn into the crotch. By this means the. leg portions are free to move independently, and the upper portions of the nether or leg parts of the garment will rub against each other, and will remain in contact with and move with the skin so that there is no friction against the skin. As all the rubbing occurs between the material of the garment the usual chafing of the skin is entirely prevented. Moreover the material in being more closely in contact with the portions of the lower limbs the perspiration is absorbed by the garment and thereby evaporates more readily than is the case with the ordinary garment and adds, it is believed, to the effectiveness of the garment in preventing chafing by the evaporation or elimination of pafspiration.

From the above description it will be seen that the various parts of the garmentin this combination are entirely adjustable so that the garment and its combinations may be readily fitted to any form Without the use of excessive material. The garment and the various combinations thereof give the body ample opportui'iity for breathing or, in other words, the skin is sufficiently exposed so as to permit the desired respiration of theskin but also serves to amply cover the body to attain the desired protection and in a manner to greatly increase the comfort of the individual while largely eliminating perspiration and preventing friction of the skin against the garment or against other portions of the body.

It is to be understood that various changes or modifications may be made in the various parts of my invention without departing from the spiritor scope thereof as defined in the claims.

It is obvious that the garment or combination thereof may be made of any suitable -material, as silk or satin or other textile material having the required softness. I may employ, if desired, different material for different portions of the garment, or may employ a material lined with a softer material, such as linen, for example, lined with silk. 1 do not desire therefore to be limited to any particular kind of material or combination of n'iaterials.

Having thus described the invention whatis claimed as new is.

1. A garment comprising a main body portion adapted to be wrapped around the body of a wearer, said body portion being pro vided with a cut out portion adapted to provide a front opening when the garment is in wearing position, a pair of openings formed in the body portion and arranged one on each side of said out out portion, a second pair of openings formed in said body portion at a point above the inner end of the out out portion, a lateral extension projecting from each side of the body portion, said extensions forming limb enclosures, and securing means projecting from said lateral extensions and adapted to pass through said aforementioned openings and around the body of the wearer to secure the garment in position.

2. A garment comprising a main body portion, openings formed in the body portion and arranged in pairs, laterally extending members projecting from opposite sides of the main body portion, said lateral extensions forming limb encircling members, and securing tapes carried by said lateral extensions, and adapted to pass through said openings from front to rear of the body of the wearer, and there attached to each other to secure the garment in place upon the body of the wearer.

3. A garment comprising a main body portion, a plurality of openings formed in the main body portion, said openings occupying positions at the front of the garment when the same is in position on the body of the wearer, laterally disposed extensions providing limb encirclingmembers, means carried by said lateral extensions and passingthrough said openings to the rear of the body of the wearer for retaining said lateral extensions in limb encircling position, and securing means for said last mentioned means.

a. A. garment comprising a main body portion, having formed therein a plurality of openings so positioned in the body of said garment that they occupy a position at the front of the garment when the same is in position upon the body of the wearer, leg portions extending from said body portion and adapted to be wrapped around the limbs of the wearer, and means for retaining said leg portions in limb encircling position, said means comprising tape-like members secured to the leg portions and passing through said openings to the rear of the body of the Wearer, and means for securing said tape-like members together at the rear of the body of the wearer.

5. A garment comprising a main body portion having a plurality of openings formed in the front portion thereof, leg portions projecting from the opposite sides of said body portion said leg portions being adapted to pass around and between the limbs of the wearer from the rear to the front thereof, and underlie the main body portion of the garment at the front thereof, and rearwardly extending fastening means carried by the leg portions and passing through said openings for retaining the leg portions in limb encircling position.

6. An under garment comprising a body portion of flat sheet-like form, and having a plurality of openings arranged in the front portion thereof, leg portions extending laterally from the sides of the body portion, and adapted when the garment is in position, to pass around the limbs of the wearer, and terminating at the front thereof in underlying relation With the body portion of the garment, and means for securing the leg portions in limb encircling position, said means comprising straps secured to the leg portions, and passing through said openings to the rear of the body of the wearer.

7. A garment comprising a main body portion, laterally disposed extensions providing limb-encircling members, means carriedby said lateral extensions and extending to the rear of the body of the wearer for retaining said lateral extensions in limb-encircling position, and means for connecting said last mentioned means together at the rear of the body of the wearer.

Signed at New York, New York, this 4th day of January, 1926. I

ANNA C. LONGFELLOW. 

